AmaZulu and Celtic share spoils

Thembile Kanono came on as a late substitute and scored a soft goal as Bloemfontein Celtic and Amazulu drew 1-1 at the Seisa Ramobodu stadium.

The home side put AmaZulu under siege in the early stages of the match, using the pace of Mkhanyiseli Siwahla, Mark Mayambela and Moses Spandeel to cause havoc in the AmaZulu defence.

On 17 minutes, AmaZulu had a chance to go in front when Siwahla put in a brilliant cross, but Spandeel squandered the opportunity.

Celtic continued to dominate, and midway through the first half the AmaZulu defence failed to clear a throw-in. Spandeel took a snap shot inside the 18-area, only to be denied by keeper Kakonje Kalililo.

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A few minutes later, in a moment of madness, Celtic goalkeeper Patrick Tignyemb picked the ball up outside the box, but Siboniso Dlamini curled the ball into the side netting from the resulting free-kick.

With a few minutes to go before the interval Celtic had a goal disallowed, when Spandeel was ruled offside.

Early in the second half, AmaZulu were unlucky when Sandile Gumede rose high off a corner and hit the upright with a brilliant header.

AmaZulu were rewarded on 66 minutes, when Ntokozo Sikhakhane broke the deadlock with a well-taken finish, after a great pass from Sandile Gumede.

A minute later Spandeel almost replied when he received a pass from Sandile Ndlovu and tried to chip the keeper, only to watch his shot go inches wide.

Celtic piled on the pressure in the final stages of the match. In injury time, Kanone received a pass from Spandeel, turned Kampamba Chintu, and hit a tame shot that went through Kalililo’s arms.